Young Sommeliers Competition 2014
The winners of our Young Professionals Competitions were revealed at a glittering ceremony at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel in London in March. This was an occasion for us all to celebrate the talents, enthusiasm and desire for learning of the up-and-coming young people in our member establisments. Many thanks firstly must go to Maître Hôtelier Roland Fasel, the Managing Director of the hotel, who always ensures that the evening goes without hitch.
Taking the top accolade of Young Sommelier of the Year was Tanguy Martin of the Hotel TerraVina (Wessex).
Starting in the ballroom around a stunning apple green metallic Aston Martin Vanquish, the event was attended by members from every Bailliage together with our partners and industry guests. Our keynote speaker was Marek Reichman, Design Director of Aston Martin, who illustrated the effects that changing shape and colour have on a customer’s perception of a product. His message for us all was that great visual presentation is important in all aspects of our work – from the look of a restaurant, the dress of the staff, the style of presentation and visual impact of food on a plate.
On the night the menu designed by Executive Chef Henry Brosi, and the service, were everything that he could have wished for — especially the specially designed birthday cake!
The Finals of the Young Sommelier competition were held in the same week at the Wigmore Street showroom of our main partner, Gaggenau. The finalists fought all day to impress the judges with their knowledge of wine, ability to blind taste, their service skills of decanting and opening champagnes and most importantly of matching wines with food.
Chairman of Judges, Echanson Gerard Basset, was supported by Steven Spurrier, International Wine Judge and Consulting Editor of Decanter magazine, Christelle Guibert Tasting Director of Decanter magazine, Bailli Délégué Philip Evins and Maître Sommeliers, Dimitri Mesnard, Nigel Wilkinson and Nicholas Clerc. Again, the three placed winners on the day did not know until the dinner in what position they would be placed. Gerard Basset said that, ‘The knowledge, creativity and professionalism of the entrants never fails to amaze and impress the judging panel and although we can only have one winner the standard at the top of this competition is outstanding.’
In an equally close battle, Martin fought for top Young Sommelier against Romain Bourger of The Vineyard, Newbury (Wessex). Joint third place winners were Matthias Camilleri of Medlar (London City) and Pierre Brunelli of The Fat Duck, Maidenhead (Wessex). Amongst the rewards for Young Sommelier of the Year was a Champagne Sabre from Gaggenau, a set of hand-blown tasting glasses from Schott Zwiesel and a trip to Turkey arranged by Taner Ogitoglu of Wines of Turkey.
Philip Evins added, ‘I would especially like to congratulate Martin and Ricki, who were up against some very talented competitors. It is always daunting to have to perform in a competitive environment but they both held their own and thoroughly deserve their winning positions. We wish them both the best of luck in their challenge for top international honours in Durban and Copenhagen in September’.
For further details please contact: or Leslie Cuthbert, Echanson or Philip Evins
